Processing time for Green Card

[4nsma 0]

Hi Everyone,

My wife and I are contemplating moving to the US and we are trying to understand how long the green card process can take. My wife is a US citizen and I am a Canadian citizen. We both currently reside in Toronto.

The way we have have been advised to approach this by immigration lawers is to enter the US (I would be able to enter with a 6 month stamp as a Canadian citizen) and apply for an AOS inside the US and submit the I-130 at the same time with my wife being the sponsor and another person to co-sponsor (along with any other paperwork and supporting documents that are neccessary). From what I have understood, this would be much faster than applying from outside the US. If we decide to move, we would be staying in Texas and submitting all the paperwork from there.

I have spoken to different lawyers and immigration consultants and done some researching online to find out how long the whole process could take and I have been getting different numbers. Some people tell me it will take as little as 2-3 months, others say 5 months, 6-8 months while the published stats on VJ shows 10 months.

For anyone who applied for the green card using spousal sponsorship after entering the US from Canada, how long did it take to get the green card (from document submission to receipt of Green Card)?

Thanks.

[Jawaree 717]

The lawyers were correct but what they did not tell U is that its fraudulent to

enter as a tourist with the intent to immigrate, and if they suspect that's

what U R up to they'll refuse U entry and have your wife petition U while u wait

in Canada if they don't slap a ban on you too making the process longer & costlier

[Ontarkie 14,227]

~~Moved to What Visa Do I Need - Family Based Immigration, from K-1 Visas~~

[lost_at_sea 995]

So, the process you have advised to do is outlined here in this guide, however, you should read the warning at the top: http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide2

If you are already married, and your spouse came to the US on a tourist visa with the intent of immigration and marriage, then he/she should return to his/her home abroad, and the I-130 (or along with an I-129f for a K-3 Visa) should be filed with the relative outside of the U.S. to avoid denial, deportation, or even being banned from re-entry to the US.

As such, I don't think you should be going that way, because you'll be a tourist and be entering with immigrant intent. I assume you weren't told that it would be fraudulent to use a tourist visa to immigrate (with intent to do so on the way in).

This is the guide you should follow: http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide1

You'll be able to visit as a tourist while the process is on-going, but you won't be able to move until your IR/CR-1 visa is in-passport.

It'll take about a year judging by current timelines.

Edited February 14, 2014 by lost_at_sea

[Cathi 5,755]

It is illegal to travel to the US with a tourist visa with the intent to stay and adjust status. It carries a lifetime ban with no appeal.

[mtlguy 59]

As others have pointed out, you should never ever go to the US with the intent of immigration without obtaining the proper visa first. It is fraud and it will show sooner or later. Your lawyer needs to be fired. Immediately.

In a nutshell my wife and I are in the same boat. She is American and I am Canadian. We chose the IR1 visa path that is multi-phased as you may know.

The first phase being her filing an I130 petition; in the good old days that used to take an average of 5 months. Now it is taking about 9 to 12. Add to that another 6 to 8 months to clear the NVC and the consulate interview, you'd end up looking at one and a half years. Give or take a few months depending on how complex your case is.

At one point your wife will have to reestablish domicile in the US which clearly means a mandatory separation period. It sucks. It is convoluted. It doesn't make any sense but it is what it is.

As a final point I repeat: DO NOT go to the US like your lawyer suggested. You could be banned entry for life. And this is no joke.

Good luck.

[NikLR 13,227]

I hate lawyers who advocate visa fraud. You'd be lying to get into the USA because if you actually said "I am not visiting, I'm planning on moving here and adjusting my status." The CBP officer would tell you to march yer butt right back where it came from. LOL.

I suggest reading the CR1 guide as the legal method of obtaining your visa to move to the USA. Have a happy Valentine's day!